


Poison

by DisharmonicVoices



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, rouxls gets revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 16:45:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisharmonicVoices/pseuds/DisharmonicVoices
Summary: With the king imprisoned and Lancer as king, things are beginning to look up for the kingdom. But the threat of the former king breaking out becomes more and more real each day. Rouxls can't just sit back and do nothing anymore, he has to stop it from happening.





	Poison

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! This work was inspired by lancerfanclubking over on Tumblr! I will include a link to their page and the specific post at the end of the story!

It had been nearly a week since the Lightners arrived and Lancer overthrew his father. Rouxls was now second in charge, and proving to be a big help to Lancer as the land was beginning to take a form it had once had a long, long time ago. However, keeping Lancer’s father imprisoned through all of this was starting to become tiresome. The constant threats and barrage of foul language were starting to really get under Rouxls Kaard’s skin.

The elevator dinged, and Rouxls stepped out with a sigh. His shoes clacked along the stone floor as he approached the former king’s cell. 

“When are you going to let me out? You know he can’t keep this up much longer.” 

Rouxls didn’t pay him any attention as he slid a plate of bland looking food through a slot in the metal bars, stepping back quickly as the large man tried to reach a hand out and grab him. 

“I’ll kill you for this! Treason! You’re a traitor!”

Rouxls responded through gritted teeth with a bitter tone. “You seemeth to be forgetting that thou art no longer a king.” He made a sharp turn on his heels and left the prison, riding back up to the first floor with the man’s voice screaming after him. 

Lancer was waiting at the top, having been able to hear his father. Rouxls smiled at him as he stepped off the elevator. “Good day, sire.”

Lancer was looking at the elevator door past his legs. “Maybe I should talk to him, he seems really angry.”

Rouxls quickly reached out a hand to stop the child. “That wouldn’t be a good idea, your Highness.” Lancer looked up at him, sad eyes barely visible under his hood. “Thou must let him worketh out his frustrations. Soon he shall calm, then thou mayst see him.” 

Lancer shrugged his shoulders, one arm crossed across his chest to hold the other. “I guess. But, he seems so lonely down there.”

Rouxls kneeled down, holding Lancer’s face in his gentle hands. “Think of it as an extended time-out. Thou father must remain solitary to alloweth him to think upon his cruel actions.”

Lancer looked like he was beginning to understand. “Ooooh! Kinda like the time he made me sit in a chair and think about why it’s bad to draw on the castle walls?”

Rouxls gave a nervous smile and nod. “Y-yes, liketh that! But, for longer time since what he did was much worse.”

Lancer smiled and nodded his head. “Okay! I think I get it now. I’m gonna go ride my bike! See ya!”

Rouxls waved as the young king ran off down the hallway. “Don’t forgetteth thine helmet, your majesty!” He called after the child, who was likely not going to wear his helmet. 

However, a pressure was still weighing down on Rouxls. The basement was so,  _ easily accessible _ to Lancer. His father would have no trouble convincing his son to let him out, and if he was released he could easily overpower Lancer if he was alone, and then what would happen to the kingdom? What would happen to Lancer? What would happen to himself? He didn’t doubt the threats of holding him and every single Rudinn Ranger accountable for high treason. And the punishment for high treason against a king was, well, unpleasant. His hand shot up around his throat at the thought, a shiver rolling down his spine. He was quick to find two rangers and assigned a support to help them guard the elevator so that Lancer could not reach his father. He of course would explain this easily to the child, that was no problem. He did feel slightly more secure knowing Lancer wouldn’t be allowed down in the prison with three guards keeping him at bay, but that wouldn’t hold forever. Something had to be done about him,  _ permanently _ . 

Rouxls sat down by the river, watching the current go by. He had put Lancer to bed several hours ago, but a pressure still weighed heavy on his heart. What was he going to do about his father? He had an idea, but no way to carry it out. 

“Rouxls?” A familiar voice called not-so-softly. 

“Lancer? Thou art supposed to be in bed. What art thou doing by the river?”

“I like coming to see these cute flowers! Look, they even have berries on them!”

Rouxls grabbed Lancer’s hand before he had the chance to grab one. “My king! Those are nightshade plants, they are poisonous!”

Lancer’s tongue was sticking out, and he was staring at Rouxls with obvious confusion.

“Poisonous, if you eat them you’ll get sick!” He said with a sigh as he scooped up Lancer in his arms. “If you eat too many thou shalt meet an awfule end! Now come, you must returneth to bed.” But Lancer, without even realizing, had just given Rouxls the answer he needed. How he would take care of his father, assure he could never come back into power. He carried Lancer to his room and lay him in bed.

Thankfully, Rouxls had been put in charge of preparing meals for Lancer’s father while he was imprisoned, making his plan all the more easier. The hardest thing about all of this, was the fact it was going to hurt Lancer. 

_ “This is for the good of the kingdom, and even if Lancer doesn’t understand it now, it’s what’s best for him to. We’ll all be better off without that horrid man plaguing our lives.”  _ He thought silently to himself as he added a handful of the berries into a pot on the stove.  _ “It will at least be quicker than wolfsbane, or arsenic. He won’t suffer long, and that’s for Lancer’s sake. I can’t make the boy watch his father die, even if that wretched man doesn’t deserve his love. He deserves to have a painful death, but these will have to suffice.”  _

Rouxls brought down a bowl to the king. Soup with the berries cooked into it. His hands were shaking, but he was doing his best to keep his usual cold demeanor. 

“Let me out, Kaard. Let me out and I won’t execute you once I reinstate myself as King.” 

Rouxls said nothing as he passed the bowl along to the prisoner. 

“You’re quieter than usual. Thinking about it, eh?”

“I’m tired.” He replied under his breath as he walked away from the cell. Guilt was growing from the pit in his stomach. He didn’t care if the king died, he  _ wanted _ the king to die. It was the thought of Lancer having to go through all this that was making him feel regret. But what was done was done. He stepped back onto the elevator and rode back up to the top. Hands clenched into fists behind his back, he retreated to his bedroom.

A few hours had passed, and Rouxls had heard nothing from the guards about the king’s state. That was, until one of them came into the throne room. “Rouxls?” The ranger asked, luring the duke out to where Lancer could not hear them. “He’s been down there laughing hysterically for hours! You don’t think, maybe, that jester?”

Rouxls shook his head. “Impossible. The shopkeeper is the only one who knows where the key is. But, I shall go and ensure the former king is alone.” He spoke to the ranger as they walked back towards the elevator. 

“Are you gonna go see dad? Can I come too?” Lancer called out as he raced to catch up with them. 

“Your highness, I don’t believe that is a wise idea.” Rouxls stopped him as he boarded the elevator. “Thou should let me go alone.” He saw Lancer pout and cross his arms as the elevator doors closed and began to lower him down to the prison. The former king’s laughter was growing louder and louder the closer Rouxls got to him. The elevator doors opened, and Rouxls stepped out again. A smirk grew on his face as he walked towards the cell. 

“Thou art a broken man.” He mused, watching the large man who was laying on the floor, crying and laughing at the same time. “It is a shame the entire kingdom cannot watch your suffering. I know they would all enjoy it, and many have been waiting for what is to come.”

The sounds died down and the former king looked up at Rouxls. “What have you done to me?  **What have you done to me?!** ” He demanded as he tried to stand, only to fall back down. 

Rouxls was still smiling, watching him. “What hath I done? I have brought the kingdome solace. In just another few hours. Thank goodness for the Belladonna you so adored.”

He was pounding his fists on the prisons stone floor, his body shaking as a convulsion ripped through his body. Rouxls watched him writhe on the ground, doing nothing to help him. He’d been waiting for this day since the first time he dared lay a hand on Lancer. 

“Thou should count thy blessings I did not choose something not so, fast acting. Truly thou deserves much worse than this. Oh how tempted I was to add small amounts of arsenic each day. To watch you melt and break down each day, dying slowly more and more, alas, I love Lancer. I could not bear to let him watch his father’s death.”

“They’ll know, they’ll all know! And Lancer will hate you for it! Murderer!”

“Ah, but, thou art the only one here. No guards, no other prisoner, not even the jester can heareth thy screams. But I can.” He was grinning wider now as another convulsion tore through the large man’s body. He chuckled as he screamed louder, agony tearing its way through him. And not long after, all went silent. 

“Help! The former king hath fallen!” Rouxls screamed as he made it back to the ground floor of the castle, fake panic playing across his face like a symphony. Lancer was panicked, and ordered his father to be healed immediately. He was crying as Rouxls took him in his arms, and crying harder once the news reached him that his father had died. 

Rouxls held him tightly, letting the boy cry over the loss of his father. His chest felt tight, and he found himself crying with Lancer. Not over that cruel man’s death, but at the fact he was the reason he was so upset. But this was what was best for the kingdom. This was what was best for Lancer. Deep down he knew that, and believed it entirely with his being. And if not him, surely someone else would have killed that old fool sooner or later. But for now, he would comfort Lancer.

As the night grew cold, Rouxls disposed of any further evidence he had anything to do with the former king’s demise. The berries were burned, the bowl smashed, and the pot tossed away. The funeral was to be held the very next day, but as he passed the ballroom he could hear the excited talkings of several Rudinns, and what sounded like one of Clover’s heads, about how great things would be now that he was dead. He stopped to listen to the conversation, just for a moment. 

_ “Who cares how it happened, we should be glad!” _

_ “Yeah, that guy was a total asshole.” _

_ “I agree, and so do my sisters even if they won’t say anything.” _

_ “Things will be better now.” _

Rouxls smiled, but on his way back to his room was stopped by Lancer. The young monarch stood in front of him for a moment before holding his arms out to Rouxls, who promptly lifted him up. And even as he comforted the prince and carried him back to his room, he knew he would be over this soon. He knew things would be good again. Things would be much, much better.

* * *

Again, this work was inspired by [this post](https://lancerfanclubking.tumblr.com/post/180561180555/ok-but-imagine-while-spade-king-is-in-jail) from [LancerFanClubKing](https://lancerfanclubking.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. 

* * *


End file.
